Yet it still wasn't enough to win. This obviously is a brutal pill to swallow, as Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo made clear Monday on his Twitter page.

"Truth being told I am not sure I'm going to watch the unSuper Bowl since the two best teams are sitting at home #ravens #49ers," he wrote.

A tasty serving of sour grapes? Perhaps, though in Ayanbadejo's defense, it's also the passionate reaction of a player still processing a terrible loss. More surprising was the development pointed out by the folks at ProFootballTalk.com: The Ravens actually retweeted Ayanbadejo's comment on their official page.

On NFL Network "NFL Replay" will re-air the
Patriots' 23-20 win over the
Ravens in the
AFC Championship Game on Tuesday, Jan. 24
at 8 p.m. ET.

Perhaps some in the Ravens' camp should take Terrell Suggs' Reality 101 class at Ball So Hard University. Asked by ESPN (via the Boston Herald) if he believed Baltimore's defense got in Brady's head, Suggs didn't accept any silver lining.

"No, because he's going to play another Super Bowl, and we're going home to play with our kids," Suggs said.